The King’s diagnosis of cancer

Like so many people I am deeply shocked at His Majesty’s diagnosis of cancer. It seems such a shame following the brilliant start he has made as our monarch. Hopefully he will be back carrying out public facing duties soon. I hope that the cancer is, like many cancers, treatable.

I admire His Majesty’s openness in not only sharing his need to have prostate treatment but also in telling us all of this cancer diagnosis. I know that many more men are seeking information and help with prostate problems as a result of His Majesty’s openness. I hope that by sharing His cancer diagnosis King Charles will likewise raise awareness and encourage people to have check ups and that more cancers will be caught early as a result. As we know early diagnosis is often the key to a good prognosis, as we hope it is in the case of his Majesty.

My thoughts are with King Charles, Her Majesty, Queen Camilla and the entire Royal Family.

The Coronation

What an event. What a weekend! It deserves more than one Blog item, so I have created a whole web page on it. Here’s the link.

I was delighted to be invited to address the congregation at Oakham’s Coronation Service at All Saints’ Church on the following day. I have had several requests for the text of what I said, so here it is.

“Clear Out to Help Out” event delayed

Sadly the Rutland ‘Clear Out to Help Out’ charity car boot sale, planned for today 8th May 2023, has had to be delayed because rain has left Rutland Showground too wet; I have been told that taking the necessary vehicles across the grass would have turned it into a quagmire, not only resulting in a disaster on the day but also making the showground unusable for future events for some time to come.

This is very disappointing, not least because I have large pile of items donated to charity sitting in my garage.

The plan is to hole it on the next Bank Holiday in three weeks’ time, on Monday May 29th.

Weather permitting.

An MBE for Barbara Crellin

Feb 28th: I am delighted that Rutland’s Barbara Crellin has been awarded an MBE today by HRH The Princess Royal. Richly deserved! Barbara has done much for swimming, rugby, sport, education and well-being in Rutland.

Uppingham Rotary combats Polio!

February 17th:

Polio is still a debilitating illness in parts of the world. Uppingham Rotary⁩ held a fundraising static bike ride ⁦at The Falcon Hotel⁩ and raised over £1,000. Well done to all who took part!

QGC continues to grow…

Feb 6th: The ⁦ Queen’s Green Canopy⁩ is growing & there is time to add to #Rutland’s total before March.

I was delighted to join volunteers in Greetham to celebrate the planting of some stunning cherry trees. I look forward to seeing them in flower & the autumn colour. ⁦

Peterborough service for Katherine of Aragon

Jan 28th –

Today Katherine of Aragon was commemorated with a service at Peterborough Cathedral, where she is buried. A great woman – the first female ambassador, married to Henry VIII for 20 years. Before he divorced her.

Christmas fair at Cutts Close

December 4th: Three weeks until Christmas! Thanks to ⁦Oakham Town⁩ for a festive fair at Cutts Close today. Street food, stalls, The Grainy, spinning tea cups and more. A great Santa Fun Run was organised by Rutland Rotary.

A remarkable collection of Christmas cribs

December 3rd. An extraordinary array of 100 nativity cribs from around the world was displayed at St Andrews Church, Hambleton, Rutland this weekend. It was impossible to photograph everything as the whole church was filled!

The collection was kindly lent by BBC personality Libby Purves and assembled for display by local volunteers.

Christmas is coming!